When I was working on my master of arts in education two decades ago, my mentors introduced me to qualitative research methods, especially interviewing. One of the lessons I learned early in that work was that the term and concepts we usually apply to the quality of quantitative data do not accurately describe the expectation Read More
A high school art teacher worked with his students and the entire student body to create this piece: In the center is the school’s flagpole… it is in the center of the walkway to the main entrance. Surrounding the pole are smaller ones which are labeled. Students tie a string to the pole, then go Read More
173: Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction As an educator, I see so many theories or frameworks or models of advocated by school leaders, scholars, vendors, philanthropists, and others. I share the frustration of those educators who wish their endless series of “innovative” (an adjective used by the advocates) practice would end, and we would decide Read More
Interestingly, in the digital world, it has become possible to maintain many different identities as well; these identities can be imaginative and even contrary to any physical identity. There are thousands of online communities that focus on just about any topic imaginable. Joining those communities (usually) requires only an email address which can be obtained Read More
Among the studies summarized by Gary Small, a cognitive scientist who works at the University of California Los Angeles, and his coauthor Gigi Vorgan in the 2008 book iBrain: Surviving the Technological Modification of the Modern Mind, were several documenting the effects of technologies on human brains. They described research in which scientists measured a Read More
I observed an interesting conversation recently. A teacher had observed a student cheating during an assessment. She brought it to the attention of a school administrator as she had contacted the student’s parents (which she is expected to do in this situation). The conversation quickly turned to the consequences. The teacher intended to not allow Read More
Scarmelia and Bereiter (2006) contrasted 20th century instruction that as supported by ICT (in which ICT was assumed to be equivalent to print-based information) to knowledge building. For Scarmelia and Bereiter, ICT can support knowledge building as a social endeavor in which ideas are improved, and the community comes to more clear understanding of ideas Read More
122: Deeper Learning Principles More than 15 years ago, Collen Carmean and Jeremy Haefner (2002), scholars from the western United States, suggested that curriculum and instruction in the 21st century will be characterized by five properties that they refer to as deeper learning principles that appear to be associated with students who more clearly understand Read More
Larry Rosen (2010), a psychologist from California State University, Dominguez Hills, applied the acronym WMD to describe wireless mobile devices which he observed have become the ICT device of choice for the first digital generation, and that choice was driven by the social interactions available via the devices. With these devices individuals are always connected Read More
121: Teachers’ Inability to Deal with Ambiguity We all understand the need for rules. If some us decided to drive on the left side of the road while others choose the right side, roads would be very dangerous. The consequences for violating that traffic rule can vary. You may be stopped by a police officer Read More